Moving, Baptisms, Elder and Sister Bell

                                                      First two weeks of September 2015

Little by little we packed in our suitcases and bread tins.

Elder Santos in blue, Jake's last companion, and Elder Lao, helped us move the big stuff from another Sr, apartment in Tagbilaran that they are closing out.  Our apartment is completely unfurnished so we hauled in a lot of things.  This is the washing machine coming along.

We were very grateful for their help.

Moving is so much fun!  :)

Our new apartment from the road.  There are 3 apartments in a row.  The first one is furnished and much more expensive.  We are in the middle one.  No one occupies the other two.

And this is our front door.

Our study upstairs.  Looks like I have lost a few pictures of the apartment.  I will get them in next round maybe.  I have a hard time getting pictures transferred from one mechanism to another.

My first attempt at baking in this new apartment didn't turn out too well.  Brownies in the back turn out blackies!!!  Everything broiled instead of baked.  Happy to report we have improved since this picture was taken.  Tonight I made pizza.  It wasn't Norm's favorite but I ate a lot.

Elder Borrego and Elder Jennings invited us to Jagna to their baptisms.  9 baptisms all total.  There was a family, Father and Mother with 4 children and then 3 additional baptisms.  It was a wonderful day!  The first baptisms in the area for many years.  They are actually from Duraro, but Jagna had the font.

Afterwards the Elders cooked dinner for us.  They are the nicest Elders.  They cooked chicken nuggets, cut the raw chicken off the bone and went to work, and they cooked rice and fried it, and then they bought a chicken to add a little more.  They are hard workers and we do love them.

The missionaries in Calape wanted to get together for family home evening.  I did the food and they did the rest.  They came prepared and we had a good time.

They are such good missionaries and we will miss not living by them.

On our way to the Lanzaderas home.  We have spent much time with this family.  Their home was destroyed in the earthquake two years ago when Jake first came.  They have just built this little home.

There isn't much furniture.  I got a chair and the missionaries got the floor.  Always a fan!

A daughter is visiting them and she has a handicapped child.  Her only child and she said "I am the most blessed Mother".  Her husband works abroad.  They are very strong in the church.  That is her Mother, Sister Lanzaderas.

We are helping with a service project.  The place was like a jungle and it was all cleared before they left.  I was the limb picker upper and piler.

We took this dear Elder Celocia to the airport to leave for his mission.  He is the only member in his family I think of 9.  The rest are Baptist.  This is his Uncle who is a member.  Jake knows  him and he said Jake gave him a tie.

On the same trip we picked up this sister, Sister Magsayo at the airport just returning from Las Vegas. Her sister in the white top, returned from her mission in Ogden, Utah just a month ago.  We had all 5 of these sisters in the back seat of our truck.  Not even room for a mosquito.

We delivered the Elder at 9:30 and were suppose to pick up the sister at 10:30 but when she got to Manila she needed $100 American dollars for her luggage and she didn't have it so the church had to get the money and she missed her flight.  We waited 5 1/2 hours for her.  There is no room in the airport.  You meet people outside on the street.  It was a long 5 1/2 hours  We took them to eat which took a little while. and then we ran some errands.  It was an hour and a half ride to get there so we couldn't go home.

Elder and Sister Bell from Hooper, Utah are our new Senior couple.  They now live in our apartment.  They are here for 23 months.  He has been extremely successful in his business.  Was a plumber and had many stores.  This is their first mission and they plan on going on 3 missions.  They are extremely capable people and very ambitious.  We are learning from them instead of them learning from us.  We are so very grateful to have some help on this island.  This dear sister is actually a Richards from Brigham City. She is Emery and Lucille Wight's grand daughter.  Absolutely wonderful people. Janice and Murial are her aunts.

President Tanner and Sister Bell just arriving at the port.

Couldn't resist this picture of Sister Tanner on her knees in the bookstore.  She is a dear sister.

I do have more pictures that I evidently lost in transferring them from one machine to another.  I don't dare try to retrieve them or I will probably lose what I have so I just hope for the best.

We are doing well.  We have been gone so much since we moved in that we are barely getting settled but it is going to be good.

The first day we were here, my oven didn't work, the washing machine wouldn't work - ended up wringing out the clothes by hand and the neighbor told us we would be out of water for 4 days.  I wasn't so sure we had made a good move.  I am trying the washing machine again in the morning and hope it is happier this time.  The oven seems to have recovered and we do have water.

On the funny side, the only batch of wash I did was whites - when they said we would be out of water I hurried and washed garments.  A couple days ago Norm announced he was out of garments and he couldn't find them.  I told him that was impossible, he had plenty of garments, I went in search but I couldn't find them either.  We looked for a couple days but no garments.  I started thinking about it and told him I left his on the line for him to gather, I took the shirts to iron and my garments.  Now he thinks he remembers putting them in a sack and forgot what was in the sack and put it in the garbage.  They are GONE!   Guess I will quit looking for them.

Love you all!  Stay well, be safe and BE HAPPY!!!!!